The Impact of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System on Land Use Change Patterns in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

The rapid urbanization process in cities has led to the development of the urban transport system, which in turn has changed the land use patterns in these areas. This has resulted in significant road congestion issues during peak hours. The population in Klang and Petaling Jaya is 3.3 million, and this figure will increase over time. To reduce this issue, the government has spent 23 billion ringgit to build rail transport, with MRT as the alternative transport. MRT subsequently reduces the use of private vehicles in the city and has other indirect impacts. The change in land use patterns along its route is one of the indirect effects. Thus, the objective of this article is to analyze the changes in land use patterns that may occur due to the construction of the MRT system in Cheras between 2010 and 2020. The study utilized Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite images for the years 2010 and 2020, in addition to secondary data. We classified land use into five classes: built-up, open land, forest, agriculture, and water bodies. This simplifies the management, planning, and standardization of land use. The findings of the study show that there is a change in land use patterns, which is 87.34% for built-up areas, -94.49% for water bodies, 3904.81% for forests, -92.77% for agriculture, and -0.82% for open land. We can conclude that the construction of the MRT system has resulted in a shift in land use patterns in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.